If any university’s MBA program ever decides to offer a course on “Management by Fear and Aversion,” Park Ridge Mayor Howard “The Coward” Frimark could offer a guest lecture or two on the topic.
After earning the “Coward” moniker for his fear and loathing of Ald. Dave Schmidt’s police station referendum resolution, and his subsequent efforts to frustrate the citizen-initiated referendum that more than 2,800 Park Ridge residents ultimately stuck in his kazoo, Frimark is once again displaying his political cowardice by turning down an invitation to the candidate’s forum sponsored by Citizens United to Retain Residential Balance (“CURRB”).
That CURRB forum has become a regular election-year event for at least the past 8 years. Frimark himself happily participated in it when he ran for alderman in 2003, and again when he ran for mayor in 2005.
Frimark’s rejection of the CURRB debate comes after his rejection of Schmidt’s offer of 8 debates, with one to be held in each ward for the purpose of addressing primarily each ward’s special issues, and a grand finale city-wide debate to be held a week or two before the election.
So why is Howard “The Coward” kicking CURRB to the curb? As reported in today’s Park Ridge Journal (“Frimark Declines Forum Participation,” Jan. 28), he has suddenly become disenchanted with CURRB’s format: “I’m only going to debate in structured forums” where “[a]ll the questions will be asked from the moderator.”
Frimark may be a coward, but he (or his political brain, Linda Ski) is no dummy when it comes to politics. He realizes that our local “structured forums” tend to be much easier for the weak-record or issue-challenged candidate than more free-wheeling debate formats where regular citizens can ask their pointed questions directly, or where opponents can question each other.
That’s because local “structured forums” tend to have genteel, under-informed moderators asking questions that usually are picked and chosen by the debate sponsor – with complete and total discretion – from among those sent up from the audience on index cards. And those “structured forums” rarely permit follow-up questions that can highlight and poke holes in a wily politician’s glib and self-serving non-answers.
As further reported in today’s Journal article, Mayor Howard the Coward’s rejection of the CURRB invitation sure has gotten the nose of CURRB’s Judy Barclay out of joint. She noted that no candidate had ever before turned down a CURRB invitation, and she issued the following challenge in response to Frimark’s slap: “Stand up and be counted like a man. Answer the questions the residents have.”
Ms. Barclay, we couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.
11 comments so far
I also read this story on line in the H.A. updates and just noticed that the comments on this article have been removed.
I think I remember something like this happened on another article that was written reguarding the mayor.
What’s up with that?
I recall a City Council meeting, quite some time ago that was related to the issue of the homeless shelter. And I recall Howard yelling at an audience member who called out a comment without going to the podium: COME FORWARD, BE A MAN.
Well Howard, if the shoe fits… wear it.
Perhaps the mayor is trying to see just how far he can push citizen groups around. First the citizens who were trying to get signature for a refendum to be oput on the ballot, then a citizen/business owner in NOT allowing the use of HER business to help the citizens collect those signatures, and now a citizen forum, which would allow questions straight from the…what?…the citizens. If this is his intent who the heck does he think will do the voting in this town?
Oh yea…. the citizens!
Maybe it’s time for the citizens to start pushing back!
I hope someone asks the Herald-Advocate about the above observation by Watchful Eye.
Regarding this post: Any of us who actually see or talk to the Mayor from time to time should tell him we think he needs to go back and accept the CURRB invitation. Any of us who actually go to the debates should ask hard questions, via index card or by standing up… like a man… or a woman.
I remember back during the 2005 mayoral campaign when Frimark dodged the League of Women Voters’ debate at City Hall (leaving Mike Tinaglia standing at the altar) because supposedly Nancy had a fender bender an hour earlier. Never heard about any injuries, but it sure was a convenient excuse for Howard to take a pass on even a “structured format” with what you labeled the “genteel under-informed moderator.”
Maybe you should ask the mayor why the comments are missing from the Herald-Advocate article. He–or one of his supporters–are the ones removing them by clicking the ‘report abuse’ button next to each comment over and over.
Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to converse with the mayor on city issues on several occasions, and I always found him to be “under-informed” even as he hinted with that glint in his eye that he knew more but just wasn’t telling. But when I talked to him about the need for a new police station and why he was trying to buy up private land for it, I finally realized that he knew nothing more what he was telling. And that wasn’t much of anything to big whoop about.
Does Frimark have a Rose Garden, or is he just adopting that strategy in hiding from the voters on these debates?
Will the Chamber luncheon debate be at the Park Ridge C C with non-members charged $50 to get in? Yeah, that’s pretty democratic.
I noticed there was another comment added to the H.A. article and those comments have been remoed AGAIN.
I wonder if there is more to this story than meets the eye?!?
I was just thinking.
I asked him on Monday how long he’s lived in PR?
His answer 38 years, long than most on the council I believe.
I just glad he didn’t become mayor sooner.
Then again with the Butler addministraition he might of not had a chance years earlier.
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